This invention relates to a displacement control structure for suspended vehicle pedals such as parking pedals, accelerator pedals, clutchpedals, and brakepedals. In particular, the present invention relates to a vehicle pedal displacement control structure which reduces risk factors for lower extremity injury to the driver by controlling the displacement of the vehicle pedal in the event of an external force being applied to the front of the vehicle.
The present application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2006-022892, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
One conventional vehicle pedal displacement control structure of this type is shown in FIG. 10. A reinforcement member (steering support beam or instrument panel reinforcement) 2 bridged across a vehicle body at the back of a brake pedal 1 is provided with a pressing member 3. A regulating block 4 is provided on the brake pedal 1 for restricting displacement of the brake pedal 1 relative to the pressing member 3 at the contact point when pressure is applied from the pressing member 3 to the brake pedal 1.
When an external force is applied to the front of the vehicle, a dashboard panel 6 displaces backward, and since a pedal bracket 5 is secured to the panel 6, the brake pedal 1 also moves backward. The pressing member 3 and the regulating block 4 then cooperatively apply pressure to the brake pedal 1 toward the front of the vehicle around a rotation axis 7 so that a pedal pad 8 of the brake pedal 1 moves forward, thereby reducing the risk factors for lower extremity injury to the driver (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. JP 10-250624).
In this conventional vehicle pedal displacement control structure, the reinforcement member 2, which is primarily provided for supporting and enhancing rigidity of the steering system, is provided with the pressing member 3 to press the regulating block 4 on the brake pedal 1 so as to press the brake pedal 1 toward the front of the vehicle around the rotation axis 7. A problem with this structure is that the reinforcement member 2 is apt to deform because of the load applied thereto, which will make the steering system askew and adversely affect the direction in which an air bag will extend. Furthermore, despite the regulating block 4 provided on the brake pedal 1, the brake pedal 1 will still displace unpredictably because it is dependent on the movement of the dashboard panel 6.